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Flavored Cigarettes Inovation
RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company began marketing Camel Exotic Blends, a line of premium flavored cigarettes with designer wrappings packaged in flat full-color tins. The product line consists of 5 mainstay flavors and additional “special” or “limited time only” flavors featured in promotion with seasons, holidays, or other campaigns. Although initially available only through Camel events or special order, today they may be found in many outlets that sell tobacco, including convenience stores, gas stations, and tobacco stores. At least 18 different flavors of Exotic Blends have been introduced since 1999. The blends have used fruit flavors such as berry, lime, coconut and citrus; sweet flavors such as vanilla, cinnamon, chocolate, mint, and toffee; and alcohol flavors such as bourbon. The Exotic Blends line was followed by flavored extensions of 2 major menthol cigarette brands: RJ Reynolds’ Salem Silver Label, a collection of 4 flavored blends introduced in 2003, and Brown and Williamson’s 4 flavored menthols, Kool Smooth Fusions, a limited edition line introduced in 2004. These 2 brands combined menthol with such flavors as berry, vanilla, and mint. It should be noted that Camel Exotic Blends is the only one of these brands to have continued sales into 2005. PRODUCT AND BRAND IDENTITY The products under discussion are presented in unique and graphically appealing packages and are designed to create a visual impact (Figure 1). Package design is a key part of a product’s brand identity and is especially important for cigarettes. Unlike many other products, cigarette packs are not discarded after being opened but rather are retained and reopened (often in view of others) until the last cigarette has been smoked. The social visibility of the packs and, in the case of distinctive cigarettes, the cigarettes themselves make them “badge products,” wherein the use of the product associates the user with the brand image. According to a Brown and Williamson executive, consumer response described Kool Smooth Fusions as “a pack to be seen with.”18Furthermore, the distinctive look of the cigarette pack itself serves as a traveling advertisement of the brand when carried by a smoker; when placed together in a retail setting, the packs act as mini-billboards for the brand at the point of sale.14 Packaging may be particularly important in promoting a new cigarette, especially at the point of sale, where customers choose among the clutter of competitive brands and may meet new brands for the first time. Distinctive packaging sets the flavored cigarettes apart. Kool’s Smooth Fusions utilize a completely new cigarette package design—a hard pack that opens up in the middle into 2 halves like a book, with cigarettes held vertically in each ... The Camel, Salem, and Kool flavored product lines share a number of other commonalities that also differentiate them from most cigarettes and present them as being new. In addition to innovative packaging, varied leaf blends, and intense flavorings and aromas, the cigarettes themselves have distinctive looks, with designer tipping and wrapping papers that highlight brand logos and match the color and look of the flavor’s pack. Finally, carefully crafted descriptions of the flavor are provided with the pack to further communicate the identity of both the individual flavor and the flavored brand line overall. For example, the wording on Kool’s Mintrigue pack describes the flavor as “A deeply rewarding menthol experience that tantalizes, yet leaves you guessing as to the secret of its intriguing refreshment.” This “mysterious” sentiment is echoed on the packs of the other Kool flavors, which are described as “alluring,” “enchanting,” and “enticing,” and is again reinforced in the advertising of these flavors. The look, smell, and taste of the 3 flavored cigarette lines set them apart from others. These cigarettes highlight brand logos and use designer tipping and wrapping papers that match their brand and flavor image. Cigarettes from left to right: 3 Camel ... References # Burrough, Bryan (2003). Barbarians at the Gate. HarperCollins. pp. 40, 46. # Camel Exotic Blends store locater. Available. Accessed December 1, 2004. # Slade J. Marketing policies. In: Rabin RL, Sugarman SD, eds. Regulating Tobacco. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2001:72–110. # Wakefield M, Morley C, Horan JK, Cummings KM. The cigarette pack as image: new evidence from tobacco industry documents. Tob Control. 2002; 11(S1):i73–i80. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1766062/ PMC free article PubMed # Wakefield M, Letcher T. My pack is cuter than your pack. Tob Control. 2002;11:154–156. # Cunningham R, Kyle K. The case for plain packaging. Tob Control. 1995; 4:80–86.